


A Different Kind of Life

by LadyReivin



Series: Dog Show AU [1]
Category: Hockey RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe, Gen, M/M, No Dialogue, Pre-Relationship, dog show
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-12
Updated: 2014-05-12
Packaged: 2018-01-24 11:12:36
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,538
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1603088
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyReivin/pseuds/LadyReivin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sidney was raised differently then most kids.  He is third generation dog breeder and dog shower.  His life has always been about showing dogs and perfecting the breed.  He doesn't know anything else.</p><p>When he was sixteen he competed in Europe in an invite only show.  Unbeknownst to him who he met would change his life a few years later.</p><p>This is a view of Sidney's life as an Owner/Breeder/Handler in the competitive world of dog showing.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Different Kind of Life

**Author's Note:**

> This is completely unbeta'd. All mistakes are my own.
> 
> I apologize if anyone is ooc at any point. As a dog handler myself I have a bit of trouble keeping my own experiences and past out of it. Especially with Sidney's character because I thought he'd be amazing with my own breed. A few of my experiences, when I was a kid, I may have wrote in for him...lol.
> 
> I've never read a fanfic that involved dog showing. And I think it's a shame. If you are expecting frills and ridiculous outfits and all that jazz...you are barking up the wrong tree, sorry.
> 
> Hopefully this will develop into a series. Depending on how this story is received.
> 
> First story in years I've written that has no dialogue...that was not on purpose.
> 
> I apologize for the quote. It is from something I wrote and published several years ago. There is an astounding lack of decent quotes that I could find about dog showing. And I don't have any of my handling books with me...they are all at my Grandparents house.

“To show a dog is to create a deeper bond with your furry friend. You work in tandem with each other. You learn to read your dog and your dog learns to read you, everything from voice to body language. They become more than just your pet; they become your friend and partner.” ~ [Kayla M Savory of Allure Belgians](http://allurebelgians.com/)

 

 

 

The thing is, Sidney has been showing dogs for longer than he can remember. He’s third generation. His Dad was a pro handler in his youth. His mother specializes in reading bloodlines and trying to prefect their breed. He was raised with litters of puppies. Dog shows were his playgrounds and other handlers were his teachers. First time he stepped in a ring he was six years old. A few months later he won Group Four with that very dog. Finished her championship.

His father had Beagles when he was young. They bred and showed them. The main focus for the family kennel, back then, was hunting. Troy wasn’t into that, however. He preferred the showing part. Grooming a dog to perfection and then competing against other dogs. The politics of the conformation ring. What he especially liked was how competitive it was. It was through the dog world that he met his wife. She had Alaskan Malamutes. Neither was satisfied. In the end they found a breed that fit them.

[Belgian Sheepdogs](http://allurebelgians.com/uploads/2/9/1/6/2916531/3678240_orig.jpg).

Sidney was biased to the breed. He couldn’t help it. He grew up with them. Trained with them. Nearly every milestone in his life involved at least one of them. When he looked at them he saw a beauty that he didn’t see in other breeds. An elegance that bled into intelligence. Don’t get him wrong, he loves all dogs – no matter if they are pure bred or not -, but there is just something about the Belgians that draws him to them.

When Sidney was old enough he was registered to be a Junior Handler. At the age of ten he began to compete against others of his age group. It was a different type of competition then he was used to. But all in all it wasn’t completely different. He still put on his suit and made sure his appearance was neat. He still groomed his dog to the breed standard. However, when he went into the ring it wasn’t just his dog that was being judged this time. It was also him. More so him even. He had to stack the dog to perfection, remember the show patterns the judge asked him to do, all the while keeping eye contact with the judge and remembering to smile. He had to train his dog to do far more than just the regular competition; where there wasn’t time to do a triangle or a T formation.

Trina insisted that dogs had more than just their conformation championship. That was all Troy wanted. She said to breed a better dog, and to attract better stock, they needed to have performance titles. She insisted that they show their dogs in Obedience, Herding, Agility, and even Tracking. As a child she had Sidney learn how to show a dog in confirmation but be able to turn around and take a dog into the obedience ring right after.

When Sidney was sixteen he attended an international show in Europe. It was invitational only. Not just for Junior Handlers but also for anyone else competing. It was a prestigious thing. And Sidney was the youngest junior there. It was there that he met Geno.

Only then he didn’t know him as Geno. Didn’t know his name really. What he did know was that the older boy had a deep, slow voice and that he handled his [Dogue de Bordeaux](http://www.post-gazette.com/image/2014/02/08/ca0,489,1729,2218/IMG-3920-3.jpg) with an elegance that Sidney didn’t know was capable for a Mastiff breed. What he also knew was that the boy didn’t speak English beyond “Yes ma’am” and “No sir” and other such pleasantries. His annoying friend, however, did have some rudimentary skills. And honestly? Sidney was of the opinion that Alexander Ovechkin was just as annoying as [Border Terrier](http://www.westminsterkennelclub.org/breedinformation/terrier/images/borderte.jpg) he was showing.

Sidney won his class and advanced into Best Junior in Show. There he competed against the boy with the Dogue de Bordeaux and Ovechkin. It was then he learned the boys name – thanks to Ovechkin – Malkin. Also competing with them was a British girl with a Papillion. Somehow Sidney won. To this day he’s not entirely sure what it was he did that put him above the other three. From the moment he was announced as Best Junior everything becomes a blur. His father tells him that it is because Jens – his two year old bitch – was a pain to handle. She was young and refused to hold still. Making him work much harder than any of the other handlers, who all had dogs with much more experience.

They all celebrated at the hotel afterwards. There was a pool and sparkling cider. Sid hovered off to the side most of the time. Even if there wasn’t a language barrier, he just didn’t know how to talk to them. Each of them was easy going and acted like normal teenagers. Sidney had never had that. It had always been all about dog showing.   So much so that he was homeschooled from grade three on.

He mostly forgot all about the other competitors from that show after he returned to North America. Everything went on as it always did. He showed and helped his parents and remained secluded from “regular” people.

A few years later he was surprised to see both those Russian boys again. Sidney was trying his hand at Westminster. He didn’t expect to go very far, given the breed he was showing. But he was bound and determined to at least make it to the Group ring. He was setting up his grooming station and bench area when he heard bickering next to him. Bickering that obviously wasn’t English.

What was his luck that his toughest competition was a Junior Handler would be setting up next to him at the most prestigious show in North America? Ovechkin – call me Ovie – recognized him. Unfortunately. The man was loud and took up far too much space. Sid didn’t know what to do with him or how to be around him. Which didn’t faze the other man in the slightest. He found out, through Ovie’s insistent chatter, that they had just come to North America. They were working as professional handlers. Had their own dogs, plus a few Russian clients dogs. All in all they set up the benches for a Border Terrier, a Dogue de Bordeaux, a [Rough Collie](http://www.collienet.com/picsMarch07/ladnar%20bitter%20sweet%20new.jpg), and a [Whippet](http://www.doginfomat.com/whippet_sophie.jpg). Sidney felt very out of place next to them, as a breeder owner handler.

Sidney reached his first goal and won Best of Breed with Xancho, the best puppy from the litter Jens had four years before.

The next day he met Ovie once again. He’d won BOB with his Border and his clients Whippet. Evgeni – and was that ever a mouthful – had won BOB with his clients Rough Collie, a big sable male with some hard to pronounce name.

Of course Herding was the last group before Best in Show. Rarely was it in any other place. That gave Sidney a day off before having to go back in the ring. Given that it was a bench show Xancho had to be where spectators could see him. So he was at Madison Square Gardens with all the other competitors.

While Ovie showed his two dogs, Evgeni stayed at the setup to watch their remaining dog. One thing led to another and boredom won out. They did their best to hold conversation. And overall it wasn’t bad. For all the trouble that Sid has had with talking to people in the past, there was something about Evgeni that put him at ease.

It only took him three times of botching the pronunciation of Evgeni’s name for them to come up with his nickname. Geno. It was much easier to say and really if Geno planned to continue showing in North America he probably needed a name that his clients could say. Geno was the first pro handler that Sid was able to talk to and not felt like he was being looked down upon because he was a breeder owner handler. He liked it. Loved it even.

They competed against each other in the Herding Group. Neither of them placed. Which wasn’t a surprise to Sidney. Only one Belgian Sheepdog had ever placed at Westminster and that was a Group Three in the 90s. Sidney and Geno did get to watch Ovie show his clients Whippet in Best in Show only to loose to a Pekingese.

On a whim Sidney gave Geno his card. While he honestly didn’t give a shit if he ever talked to Ovie again, Geno put him at ease. Geno gave him his own card and said something about showing one of Sidney’s dogs for free if he ever needed it. Or at least that’s what Sidney thinks he said. The accent was hard to chew.

Two dog shows later they met up again.

**Author's Note:**

> Hit me up on [tumblr](http://ladyreivin.tumblr.com/)


End file.
